Hey, What Next listener, it's Mary here. We're going to be rerunning an old episode from our archives today to give the What Next team a little time off. And it's one of my favorites from back in June of 2019 when I interviewed the head coach of the Notre Dame women's basketball team. Her name's Muffet McGraw. She is a legend in the sport. And last week, Coach McGraw announced that she would be retiring after spending 33 seasons with the Fighting Irish.

So please take us through it. Why are you retiring now?

Well, to retire during a global pandemic, I thought it would be a great way to get on Sports Center.

Because there's not a whole lot of else going on.

McGrath decided to hand over the head coaching reins to Niel I.V., a former player and assistant coach of hers.

And this year seemed like a good time. Our program is in great shape right now, looking ahead. We've got a great recruiting class coming in. We're preseason back in the top 25.

Everything is really looking good. And I think that it was a great time for me to hand over the reins for someone else.

As you'll hear in our interview, Muffet's thought a lot about the role of women in sports and women in positions of power.

I love talking to her. So here's the full conversation with the now former head coach

of the Notre Dame women's basketball team, Muffet McGraw. In the world of women's basketball,

Muffet McGraw is a legend. She's one of just a few female head coaches at the very top of her game.

She coaches at Notre Dame, makes a million bucks a year. In South Bend, Indiana, she is so well known that when you land at the airport, it's her voice that you hear over the loudspeaker.

It's really kind of weird when you're sitting there waiting for your flight and you hear your

voice over the PA announcing that parking outside is a technical foul. But in the last couple of

months, she's become known for something else, her all-female coaching staff. This spring, reporters

just kept asking about it. You know, I was asked the question, you know, how do you like it?

And I thought, yeah, it's great.

You know, I don't know that I'd hire another guy. And then the headline turned into, Muffet McGraw will never hire a man. And it kind of blew up a little bit. This was back in April. Muffet was headed to the final four, about to play her biggest rival, Yukon, when she sat down for a press conference.

Muffett was headed to the final four, about to play her biggest rival, Yukon, when she sat down for a press conference.

Muffet, I know you made some comments about hiring practices and what you do in the future.

Another reporter asked her about our coaching staff.

That's when Muffet took a deep breath and just lit in.

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